The Godfather’s Friend

The Corleone compound hosts Connie's wedding as Vito listens to requests from guests. Michael, a Marine and WWII hero, introduces his girlfriend Kay Adams to the family. Johnny Fontane pleads for Vito's help securing a movie role, and Vito sends his consigliere Tom Hagen to negotiate with the studio.

Hagen travels to Hollywood to pressure studio president Jack Woltz into offering Johnny Fontane the part. Woltz refuses the request at first, warning Hagen to stay out of his business. The pressure intensifies as Fontane's career hangs in the balance.

Woltz wakes to find the severed head of his prized stud horse in his bed, a brutal warning to secure Fontane's role. The shock of this act demonstrates the Corleones' willingness to employ fear and violence to influence Hollywood decisions. Fontane ultimately secures the part after the incident.

Drug lord Sollozzo asks Vito for political protection and investment in his narcotics venture. Vito declines, citing the risk of alienating his political connections. The rejection sets in motion new tensions that pull the Corleone family into a criminal war.

Vito sends Luca Brasi to spy on the Tattaglia family to test their willingness to ally with him. Brasi is garroted to death during the initial meeting, a brutal sign of the perilous alliance they seek. His death heightens the urgency for the Corleones to respond.

The attempted hit on Vito continues, and Hagen is drawn into the conflict as police protection collapses. Michael visits his father and is drawn into the danger when Captain McCluskey orders the guards cleared from Vito's room. Michael intervenes to stop the hit, but is beaten by McCluskey.

With Vito hospitalized, Sonny retaliates by targeting the Tattaglia leadership in a bid to restore balance. The violence broadens the war between the families, drawing in more factions and escalating the feud. Sonny's action demonstrates the willingness of the Corleones to take bold, dangerous risks.

Facing pressure from Sollozzo and McCluskey, Michael agrees to meet them to settle the dispute. After spending several minutes with Sollozzo, Michael retrieves a hidden gun and shoots both men dead in the Bronx restaurant, then escapes with Hagen's help. The murder cements Michael's entry into the family business and sparks a wider war.

Devastated by the ongoing war, Michael goes into hiding with Don Tommasino in Sicily. While there, he meets and marries a local woman, Apollonia, beginning a new life far from New York's crime world. The Sicilian chapter marks a turning point in Michael's transformation.

Sonny publicly confronts Carlo for abusing Connie, but is ambushed and murdered at a highway toll booth. Soon after, Apollonia is killed by a car bomb intended for Michael, a blow that shatters Michael and binds him to the Corleone family more deeply. The losses propel Michael toward power.

Vito negotiates a fragile peace by hinting at withdrawing opposition to the narcotics trade, allowing Michael to return home and enter the family business. Michael comes back with Kay and they start a family, having two children in the early 1950s. The uneasy settlement marks the transition from wartime upheaval to enduring control.

With Vito aging, Michael consolidates control by moving Hagen to Las Vegas and buying Moe Greene's stake in the casinos. He pressures Fredo over Greene's influence, and Barzini's growing power becomes apparent as old alliances fracture. The Don-in-waiting begins shaping the family's lucrative empire.

In 1955, Vito dies of a heart attack, and Tessio's betrayal is revealed as he plans to meet Barzini. At Connie's baby's baptism, Michael's guards kill the other family bosses and Moe Greene, while Carlo confesses his role in Sonny's death and is exiled and murdered. Capos kneel to Michael as Don Corleone, while Kay watches with uncertainty about their future.